Nayland has traditionally had a strong arts program, which over the years, has produced some fantastic young talent. This year has been no exception. Today we profile two Year 12 Students whose works are about to be exhibited in the North Island: photographer Emma Barnes-Wetere and sketch artist Fabian Strauch.

Emma's photography has been chosen to be exhibited at the Ringa Toi Student Exhibition at the Asteron Centre in Wellington from Wednesday 23 September to Friday 2 October.

Ringa Toi is an annual exhibition that showcases the artwork of secondary school students with a focus on Toi Māori. Artworks are taken from art students working on their NCEA portfolios at an Excellence standard.

In her biographical statement, which Emma had to write to send in with her artwork, Emma said that "This self-portrait aims to make a point about the erasure of Māori women from the mainstream media, who are subsequently pushed into the background. For me, this image is both an empowering celebration of indigenous beauty and a reminder of how indigenous narratives are often hidden or untold."

Emma explained that she put her photos together like a patchwork. “I printed out the photo in different tones, different saturations, and then cut it up into squares, so some of them are in and out of focus and then by hand, stuck them on. So it is sort of like pixelation. (The different colours) are about how people either accept indigenous beauty or fail to see past it,” Emma said.

This theme is one that is important to Emma, who acknowledged that even though race relations are much better in New Zealand now compared to previous generations, there are always things that we can do better. "My mum is Māori, and that is something that has always been a challenge for her, in terms of the racism that she’s experienced or discrimination for speaking te reo. Therefore now, when it is more celebrated to speak te reo Māori, I think it is still really important that we are acknowledging that there are still aspects that we need to improve on," Emma said. 

"I have always been quite passionate about amplifying indigenous voices. I think this year, we’ve seen with the Black Lives Matter movement, it has become a bit more relevant. There is more of a platform for pakeha people to be interested and engaged in that conversation," she said.

Emma is a relative newcomer to the creative arts. Apart from studying and performing music, she hadn't put herself out there artistically before, and certainly never considered being part of an exhibition.

"It is quite a strange feeling and is not something that I expected was going to happen. But it is also quite exciting and something new, and hopefully I will be able to go to the exhibition," Emma said.

Year 12 student Fabian Strauch has had his drawing of John Lennon chosen from among 129 other entries as a selection for the National Youth Art Awards, being held in Hamilton later this month. The awards, organised by the Waikato Society of Arts, gives Fabian the chance to exhibit his drawing for possible sale, and also a chance at winning  $2000 of prize money.

Fabian's drawing is not part of his NCEA work. Instead, it came from a personal challenge he set himself at home to see how realistically he could draw a human face and portrait. As his model, he chose a famous photograph of John Lennon, taken in New York in 1974.

Fabian said he was really excited that his creative work will now be viewed by others. "I haven’t really got a perceptual context of it, because I haven’t actually seen it there, but it's cool to know that people actually want to see your art and that it doesn't have to be just something you do as a hobby or at school."

There is also the possibility that a punter will stump up the $800 to buy the painting. “It is nice to have the recognition of people wanting to buy your art, to spend their hard-earned money to hang your artwork in their house."

Fabain said that the recognition that would go with winning wouldn't be so bad either. "I suppose it would be nice to have on your resume that you won something, that you're not just some kid that does art," Fabian said.